


wish that you were here

by neckwear



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, Marriage, Royai - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-22 21:18:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8301443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neckwear/pseuds/neckwear
Summary: The only times she ever ends up in a deep sleep is when she is with Roy, who makes her feel safe and, in return, her presence causes his nightmares to lessen. When she isn’t with him, though, they come back, and she answers the phone knowing it’s him even though she asks hello into the receiver.





	

Roy hates being away from home for long periods of time. However, his job calls for it, he has taken on an impossible role and now he must fulfill it. He doesn’t regret it, of course - but plans change, and he wants to spend more of his time with his wife. 

Even months after being officially married, calling Riza his wife still thrills him in way he’s never felt before. It’s almost something like pride. He takes pride in how she looks at him because she’s finally truly happy, something he’s always wanted, and in how he’s given her everything he has ever promised her. Now, instead of sneaking around in one of their small homes, they live in a mansion, with a big bedroom and backyard for Hayate, and they can finally be open about their love for each other. 

He misses her terribly while he’s gone. Most of his trips require him to be gone for days or even weeks at a time in far off places, surrounded by advisors and soldiers. Ever since dissolving the State Alchemist program and, starting with Grumman, turning the country into a more democratic one, Roy has been forced to take on the role of a politician. Fortunately, he fits the role well. He is so used to climbing up the ranks and leaving behind a devastating path that it comes easily to him. He surrounds himself with his old team, they are his closest assistants, but the one he places all his trust in can’t be with him. 

Riza holds down the fort back home in Central. While he is gone on business, she looks over budget plans, is one of the first responders to crime scenes when needed, handles the press after a new treaty is signed or a rebel group has been suppressed. These are not jobs usually reserved for the First Lady, but she is more than capable, she helps run the country when Roy is busy with other tasks. She does it with such dignity and confidence that she comes to be well respected and held in high regard by people all over the nation. She updates him over the phone while he is away, and he sincerely wonders where he would be without her. 

Not all calls are merely business, though. They have more than just professional side to their relationship, they _are_ husband and wife. He calls her nearly every night when he’s gone, and even though Riza complains about him running up the phone bill (there’s no reason for her to, but it’s a force of habit), he still calls, and it becomes a small comfort between the two of them. 

Roy always makes the call. The number changes wherever he goes so she can’t call first, but he doesn’t mind. It gives him something to look forward to at the end of the day. If he’s had a particularly difficult day, he’ll call asking for _Elizabeth_ , just to hear the smile in her voice as she greets him and says his name in response. They are both night owls, if only to avoid their persistent nightmares that still occur even after their military days, so their calls happen around midnight, right before bed. 

However, sometimes Riza will be woken up to the sound of the phone ringing at three in the morning.

She’s always been a light sleeper. Ever since Ishval, she has gotten in the habit of keeping one eye open when she sleeps, always on high alert even when she’s most vulnerable. The only times she ever ends up in a deep sleep is when she is with Roy, who makes her feel safe and, in return, her presence causes his nightmares to lessen. When she isn’t with him, though, they come back, and she answers the phone knowing it’s him even though she asks hello into the receiver.

“Did I wake you?” 

“Oh, no,” she says, sitting up on one elbow. At some point in the night Hayate had snuck up into bed with her, and he curls up around her back. “You know me. I don’t sleep very well.”

Roy sighs on the other end, and she can imagine his hand on his face, his fingers pressed on the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, I know it’s late…”

She’s sat up at this point, but she is still slightly slumped on her back in bed and is petting Hayate behind the ears. “Is everything okay?”

There’s a pause, and then a deep exhale. If he had hoped to not let her worry about him, she knows what every breath of his means, what each small sound or inflection that comes out of his mouth implies. They’ve been together long enough for both of them to know each other inside and out. “Not exactly.”

“Is it work?” 

“No.” Roy doesn’t like to admit his weaknesses, and if he does it isn’t easily. After years of being told he’s useless in the rain, even if it is jokingly, he is hesitant to admit his downfalls. However, no matter how many times Riza tells him that having nightmares isn’t anything to be ashamed of, he still is slow to admit when he’s had one. He wants to appear tough and fearless, but he thinks he can’t very well do that if he’s having night terrors. “I’ve just...not been sleeping well, is all.”

Riza knows what he means. They are used to reading between the lines that he doesn’t have to tell her to know. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“You know you can.”

Another sigh. “It’s the same kind of dream. It’s about Ishval, it’s -- it’s nothing special. It’s probably because I’m here, that's all.”

He had been in Ishval for the past few days, during the installment of the reconstruction, where more and more homes and schools were being built. It was still his main concern, even after the trials had occurred. They still felt the guilt, however, and he always made sure to check in on them, to gain their trust and to make up for his sins of the past. Even so, it didn’t stop his nightmares. 

“Roy,” she says his name gently, carefully. “It may be the same dream, but it still matters.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he insists. She knows he’s lying so she won’t worry about him. She knows he probably woke up in a cold sweat, his breath heavy as he tried to bring himself back to earth. 

“Well, then,” she starts, and Hayate lays his head in her lap, “Why did you call?”

“Well, I tried reading, and starting on work, but I couldn’t relax myself.” He pauses, and she listens carefully, letting him continue. “Believe me, I did everything I could before calling you, but I think -- I just needed to hear your voice.”

His sincerity makes Riza’s heart melt. If she needed another reason to love this man, this was it. “I’m here,” she assures him. 

Roy lets a low, frustrated groan leave his lips. “How are things down there? I heard about some criminal causing trouble.”

She knows he heard everything that happened, but he wants to move on and she lets him. “Yes, a business was shot and injured, but they survived. We aren’t sure why, yet -- but the shooter was a sniper, and obviously a bad one.”

“Why’s that?”

“We think they were going for the head, judging from where the gunshot came from, or the heart. They shot them in the side instead.” Hayate turns his head on her lap as she pets him, he is old but still adores her. “The shooter was probably motivated by revenge -- they were probably let go by the business, because of their shortcomings.” She lets out a light sigh. “Between you and me, you would think a sniper, even an amatuer, could shoot to kill, even if they missed.”

Roy laughs softly. “You would give them a run for their money, I bet.”

“Mm, I wouldn’t want to try. I’m retired, remember?” Riza says it as a joke. She’s gotten into the habit of calling herself a retiree, yet she helps run the country at Roy’s side. She lets out a soft hum. “But, regardless. When do you think you’ll be home?”

He makes a low grunting noise, clearly exhausted, and she can see him rubbing his eyes in bed, tense and tired. “Hopefully, later today. Sometime in the night. I wish I was there now, though. 

“Don’t worry,” she says, and scratches behind Hayate’s ear. “The other man in my life is comforting me.” Roy laughs on the other end, and she smiles. “I’ll wait up for you,” she tells him. “But for now, you need to sleep. We can’t have you tired while fixing the country, can we?”

He chuckles. “You’re right.”

“You know I always am. Goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you too. Goodnight, Riza.”

Roy comes home at eleven that night. Luckily, there are no advisors flooding around him, no soldiers telling him something has gone awry. Instead, he is greeted by his wife. The front light is on, and she is standing with her arms crossed while standing at the top of the small staircase. There’s a small smile on her face, and one grows on his when he takes her in in her silk robe. 

All his stress rushes out of his body and he makes his way up to her, where she uncrosses her arms to hold them out to him. Riza embraces him, and he buries his nose into the top of her head, taking in the smell of her floral shampoo that he has grown accustomed to, a scent he thrives off of. After being gone for so long, being held in her arms is a relief, and when she breaks away to look at him he leans down to kiss her gently. Her hand finds it’s way to his chest, and she lets a small laugh escape her when he smiles, and deepens the kiss. 

“Let’s continue this inside,” she tells him, her lips ghosting against his. Roy nods, and he keeps an arm securely wrapped around her waist.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”


End file.
